The German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (“GIF”, “we”, “our”, “us”) is committed to maintaining the privacy of its users (“user”, “you”). The following information describes how GIF collects and processes information about you when you use our website (the “Website”).

Our Privacy Policy explains:

• What information we collect and why we collect it.
• How we use that information.
• Your rights with regard to the collection of such information.

By using our Website, you agree to this Privacy Policy.

GIF was established by an agreement between the Ministries of Science of the Federal Republic of Germany and the State of Israel, as an instrument complementing the continuous ties in scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries. GIF promotes and funds scientific research projects, conducted jointly by teams of scientists in both countries (“Services”). GIF’s Website facilitates the Services for different users. Such users include Grant applicants (“Applicants”) who wish to submit their research proposal, which includes different types of information, which is processed online for grant eligibility and research assessment purposes and Grantees (“Grantees”), whose information is processed to facilitate grant money transfers etc. The Website also enables different people GIF cooperates with, to process applications and research information for GIF’s provision of the Services, such as the university associated with the Applicant or Grantee (“Research authority”), scientists from the Advisory Committee (“Scientists”) as well as reviewers who were recommended by the Scientists (“Reviewers”), and conduct the peer review process. This includes scientific evaluations by different reviewers while the evaluation form is classified as Confidential.

Collecting Information

Please note that the scope of this Privacy Policy is limited only to information collected by GIF through your use of its Website. Some information may be automatically collected, and some is collected when you interact with our Website. The type of information that may be automatically collected is non-personal information, which includes your session durations, the content you accessed on the Website, the frequency and scope of your use of the Website and information about your computer and internet connection including the operating system you use and browser type.

Please note that if you do not specifically register on our Website to use our Services, we may collect your Personal Information via cookies (as further detailed below); currently we do not use cookies on our site.

Information from which you can be personally identified may also be collected (hereinafter: “Personal Information”) but only if received voluntarily from you, including, without limitation, via the following methods:

a. Registration to use the Website:

If you wish to register to use the Website, we will collect your title, name, email addresses, institution you are associated with and phone number. Once you register, we will then provide you with a username and password to use the Website.

b. Applicant Portal:

We will collect the Personal information required to consider your application. Such information includes, without limitation, your CV information, contact details, support from other sources as well as information regarding the research proposal you submitted and research area.

c. Grantee Portal:

Upon receiving a research grant from GIF, we will collect any information relevant to the provisions of your grant, your involvement in the GIF program you partake in as well as information relevant to your research. Such information includes, without limitation, your CV information, contact details, bank account details and support as well as information regarding any travel arrangements made with respect to your GIF grant.

d. Research Authority Portal:

If you are personnel from the Research Authority (or other university unit), we will collect your name and contact details.

e. Scientific Advisor:

If you are a Scientist and/or a member of a Scientific Advisory Committee, we will collect your information as mentioned under section a., and any information relating to any feedback you submitted via the Website. Furthermore, we will collect the Personal Information of your recommended Reviewers.

f. Reviewers:

If you are a Reviewer using the Website to review and provide a feedback on a research proposal, we will collect your registration information as mentioned under section a., and any information relating to any feedback you submitted via the Website.

Please note, that we may receive your Personal Information from Scientist who recommended and referenced you as a Reviewer.

Use of Information

We use the Personal Information we collect from you for a range of different business purposes according to different legal bases of processing. We may use or process your Personal Information for the following purposes. One or more purposes may apply simultaneously.

1. Providing the Requested Services 

• We collect Personal Information to provide you with the Services you contracted to receive.
• If you are an Applicant, such Services include reviewing your application and proposed research information to determine if you are eligible for a GIF grant.
• If you are a Grantee, such Services include assuring that your grant is provided in accordance with its set terms, as well as making arrangements and following procedures relevant to your research and GIF workshops you participate in.
• If you are a Research Authority personnel, Scientific Advisor or Reviewer, we will collect your Personal Information to enable you to perform your tasks under your respective role, in connection with GIF’s Services.
• Such collection of information will enable us to provide you with technical and professional assistance, with regard to GIF’s Services relevant to you.

We process the Personal Information where it is necessary for the adequate performance of the contract regarding the requested Services. 

2. Improvement and Development of the Services 

• We collect Personal Information to improve and develop our Services and understand feedback on GIF’s Website and Services.
• We collect Personal Information for ongoing review and improvement of the information provided on our Website to ensure it is user friendly.
• We collect Personal Information to improve the management and administration of our business and maintain compliancy with our internal policies and procedures.
• We conduct surveys and research, test features in development, and analyze the information we must evaluate and improve our Services, develop new features, and conduct audits and troubleshooting activities.

We process this information considering our legitimate interest in improving the Website and Services, to allow our users to have the best experience.

3. Maintain a Safe and Secure Environment

We may use your information to detect and prevent fraud, abuse and security incidents in the following ways;

• Verify and authenticate your identity and prevent unauthorized or illegal activity;
• Enhance the safety and security of our Website and Services;
• Conduct security investigations and risk assessments;
• Prevent or take action against activities that are, or may be, in breach of our terms of service or applicable law.

We process this information considering our legitimate interest in improving our Website and Services and enabling our users to browse in a secure environment.

4. Personalize Content, Advertising and Marketing 

• If you have used GIF’s Services in the past, we have a legitimate business interest for matching the data we collect with other data we had already collected.
• This enables us to understand your needs and interests, optimize the content we send you and make it more suitable and relevant to your needs.
• This also enables us to improve your experience on the Website by providing you with personalized content, recommendations, and features. 

We process this information considering our legitimate interest to personalize your experience and customize our content.

Disclosure of Information and Transfer of Data

Except as otherwise provided in this Privacy Policy, we reasonably attempt to ensure that we never intentionally disclose any of your Personal Information, to any third party without having received your permission, except as provided for herein or otherwise as permitted or required under law.

Information collected via the application and eligibility assessment process may be disclosed to the GIF’s Board of Governance, Investment committee and Control Committee for the purpose of monitoring GIF’s application and eligibility assessment process and assuring that such meet GIF’s internal standards, policies and procedures. Applicant and Grantee Personal Information may also be disclosed to Research Authority personnel, Scientists and Reviewers, to consider your application and whether your proposed research should be eligible for a GIF grant.

Furthermore, to perform our contractual and other legal responsibilities or purposes, we may, from time to time, need to share your Personal Information with third parties. We may as well share your Personal Information with our affiliates, subsidiaries or any third-party service providers and individuals to facilitate our services or any portion thereof, such as marketing, data management or maintenance services. We may also share your information with analytics service providers for analytics services. Such analytics service providers set their own cookies or other identifiers on your computer, through which they can collect information about your usage of our Website. This helps us compile aggregated statistics about the effectiveness of our Website.

The above-mentioned third parties may be located in countries other than your own, and we may send them information we receive. When such third-party service providers as well as Scientist and Reviewers, process your Personal Information on our behalf, we will assure that they comply with obligations similar to those, which are set forth in this Privacy Policy. We will also assure that they will abide by our data privacy and security requirements and will be allowed to use the Personal Information solely for the purposes we set. We will transfer your Personal Information while using appropriate and suitable safeguards, while using a variety of legal mechanisms, including contracts, to ensure your rights and protections travel with your data.

We may also transfer your information, including Personal Information, in connection with a corporate merger, consolidation, the sale of related assets or corporate division or other fundamental corporate changes. Furthermore, information about you may also be released in order to comply with any valid legal obligation or inquiry or process such as a search warrant, subpoena, statute or court order. We will also release specific information in special cases, such as if you use the Website to perform an unlawful act or omission or take any act or omission that may damage GIF, its property and goodwill, or if there is an attempted breach of the security of the Website or a physical or property threat to you or others. The authority supervising such activities is the Israeli Privacy Protection Authority, and you have the right to file a complaint to it or any other relevant supervisory authority.

Your Rights

You have the right at any time to request to access or modify your information. To exercise these options, please contact us at admin@gif.org.il.

In some jurisdictions, in particular, those located within the European Union (the “EU”) or within the European Economic Area (the “EEA”), you may be afforded specific rights regarding your Personal Information. Subject to such eligibility, you may have the following rights to:

1. Request a rectification of your Personal Information where the information we hold about you is incorrect or incomplete.
2. Object to the processing of your Personal Information for direct marketing purposes.
3. Object to the processing of your Personal Information where our legal basis for that processing is that such processing is necessary for our legitimate interests.
4. Object to an automated decision-making (including profiling) in certain circumstances.
5. Request the erasure of your Personal Information in certain circumstances, such as where processing is no longer necessary for the purpose it was originally collected for, and there is no compelling reason for us to continue to process or store it;
6. Receive your Personal Information, or ask us to transfer it to another organization that you have provided to us, which we process by automated means, where our processing is either based on your consent or is necessary for the performance of a contract with you.

Generally, regarding information collected on our Website, GIF is a “Data Controller”. Therefore, if you wish to exercise the above-mentioned rights, please contact us, and we will make our best efforts to fulfill your request.

If you wish to file a request regarding any of the above, you may contact us at: admin@gif.org.il.

Cookies

We may use “cookies” and/or other technologies or files (collectively, “cookies”) to identify how users make use of this Website. This aggregated tracking information may be used to help us improve and enhance the Website experience for all of our users. In addition, cookies are used for adjusting the Website to your personal preferences. Cookies contain information such as the pages you visited, the length of time you stayed on the Website, the location from which you accessed the Website and more. If you would prefer not to have cookies stored on your computer, you may modify your browser settings to reject most cookies, or manually remove cookies that have been placed on your computer. However, by rejecting the cookies, you may be unable to fully access the offerings on this Website. To find out more about cookies, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

Opt In or Opt Out

You are always in control of your data, and if you choose to receive information from us, or others, you can change your mind later. If, at any time, you would like to stop receiving such information or opt out of a feature, you may notify us by writing, to admin@gif.org.il. You should be aware, however, that it is not always possible to completely remove or modify information in our databases and servers, although we will always make reasonable efforts to do so upon your request.

Links to Other Websites

This Website may provide links to other websites. Please be aware that these other websites are not covered by our Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy does not cover the information practices exercised by other providers of products or services, advertisers or other websites, companies or individuals, which are not owned or controlled by GIF. We suggest that when linking to another website, you always read that website’s privacy policy before volunteering any personally identifiable information.

Data Security

We deploy industry standard measures to ensure the security, confidentiality, integrity and availability of the Personal Information we process. We maintain physical, technical and administrative safeguards, and test and update these periodically. We endeavor to restrict access to Personal Information on a ‘need to know’ basis for the provision of Services to you. No such measures are perfect or impenetrable. In the event of a security breach, we will take all reasonable action to minimize any harm. Although we will do our best to protect Personal Information, we cannot guarantee the security of data transmitted to our Website and transmission is at the users own risk.

Data Retention

Generally, GIF does not retain information longer than necessary to provide its Services and for its reasonable business and lawful needs. If you withdraw your consent to us processing your Personal Information, we will erase your Personal Information from our systems, unless the Personal Information is required for GIF to establish, exercise or defend against legal claims or it is necessary for the performance of the requested Services.

Children’s Privacy

The Service is not intended for children under the age of 16. We do not, knowingly or intentionally, collect information about children who are under 16 years of age.

IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 16 YOU MAY NOT USE THE SERVICE, UNLESS PARENTAL CONSENT IS PROVIDED ACCORDINGLY.

Questions Regarding Our Privacy Policy

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or the practices described above, you are always welcome to contact us at admin@gif.org.il.

Revisions and Modifications to our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to revise, amend, or modify this Privacy Policy at any time. When changing the policy, we will update this posting accordingly. Please review this Privacy Policy often so that you will remain updated regarding our current policies.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

This Privacy Policy will be governed and interpreted pursuant to the laws of the State of Israel without giving effect to its choice of law rules. You expressly agree that the exclusive jurisdiction for any claim or action arising out of or relating to this Privacy Policy shall be to the competent courts in Tel Aviv, Israel, to the exclusion of any other jurisdiction.